detective35

Bob, I know that you would appreciate the collection that I picked up from one source last year. The club kits are neat, but the Shadow stickers from 1934 are rare, especially in NM condition. Dwight www.theshadow.ca

You are most kind!

[font:Arial Black]I think BZ has a sharp copy of every cool pulp cover. Here is the Copy of Thrilling Mystery that I picked up last year at Windy City. The colors on it were so sharp that I initially had to take a double take at it as I thought it was a reprint.[/font] [font:Arial Black]What a killer cover image, and an REH story too boot![/font]

[font:Arial Black]Just picked up the earliest known Shadow sign from January 1932. I have 18 different original advertising signs from the 1930's and 40's.[/font] [font:Arial Black]Here is the sign along with the April 1932 (left) and Jan.1932 (right) isssues of The Shadow magazine from my collection![/font]

[font:Arial Black]The Amazing Stories bedsheet that I bought from Joe for my collection. One of my favorite pulp covers. October 1928. Dwight[/font]

I remember seeing and looking carefully at the Mastro Detective 27 when it was on display at the Chicago comic con. I it was sharp, but definitely had the very faint corner crease, so not sure how that could grade 9.2, if it was this copy, and as was mentioned, no one knows for sure which copy this is. I do know of 2 other very high grade copies that have not been graded yet, so there are more out there (not including BZ's and Anderson's Allentown copy which Steve B. Said would grade 9.6 after seeing it in person). Dwight

I knew Frank quite well. I was at his house in San Francisco a few times and was able to participate in his pulp collection "show & tell". 10,000 hi grade pulps and related items....stunning!! Frank was 88 years old, and I was told that he was doing OK (health wise) until the past few weeks when he contracted pneumonia. Frank was also the author of the book that the movie "The Towering Inferno" was based on, among other books and screenplays that he wrote. He was a great person, a wealth of knowledge, and a very passionate collector!!!! Dwight

When Joe says a newsstand copy, he is accurate. I won another G-8 from Joe, and it was newsstand condition with white paper.....killer!!! Dwight

Hello, I picked up a number of sharp pulps at the "Windy City Pulp and Paper Convention" this past weekend in Chicago. The "Secret Agent X" is very early, the 5th issue (June 1934), and is considered a Classic cover! It is from the Strasser pedegree collection. Robert Strasser not only put the code in the first letter of the title on the cover, but in 1934 only, he also wrote his name neatlly on the cover. The "Thrilling Mystery" is one of the violent/shocking covers in the run, is in File Copy condition with white paper, and has a (REH) Robert E Howard story in it to boot. Again, it is a very early issue from June 1936 (#8). It is considered a Classic cover as well, and many consider it one of the best, if not the best cover in the run. Dwight

Slabbing Pulps with overhangs will probably never happen , and hopefully never does! Dwight

For what it is worth, I don't believe at all that Anderson had someone shilling the pulps. I have watched and been involved heavily in the buying/selling hi grade pulps over the past 15 years. In my opinion, there is no sign of shilling, as I have seen pulps in these runs, and in these grades, sell for the prices that Anderson realized, both privately and at auction. I was the underbidder on two of them and I know who won them. I know other people that bid high on them, and against each other. The ultra high grade Weird tales he listed might or might not be from the Franks collection, I don't know, as the only WT's that I looked at were the bedsheets, but I wasn't overly impressed with the condition on those (comparing them to the Robinson run, the run Anderson has, and BZ's copies). The Dime Mystery files were picked up by him years back. Dave didn't need those WT's because he has a complete killer high grade run from #1 up! I know that he has other complete high grade pulp runs and I know specifically the sources that they came from. Dwight

Hi Cat, When slabbing pulps with overhangs upright, even with an inner sleeve, the overhangs will bend and eventually crease. If they are stored flat, they might be OK. If for some reason, you have to temporarily stand a pulp with an overhang upright, you must use a backing board that is at least one inch larger on the top and bottom of the pulp, put it it in a mylight 2, and then you can place it in a magazine mylar with or without a second backing board to further help out. The backing board takes the pressure off the overhang if it is much larger than the pulp. In order to protect the overhang in a slab, they would have to develop that inner liner that you mentioned along with a backing board larger than the pulp. I remember asking Steve Borock about it and at the time he said "no chance" because besides the overhang problem, he said that page count would be an nightmare, (the number of pages, the fact the the quality control on pulp paper is not great, so you end up having one page cut shorter than the next, some stick together and are diffuclult to separate etc). Add to this, pulps in different years of the 30's etc., changed sizes, even within the same titles, and it would be a nightmare in having to create various slab sizes. Yes it would be easier to slab pulps that are cut flush from the factory (like the 1940's pulps and the Amazing Stories bedsheets), but the amount of time it would take to grade pulps would just be too time consuming, for CGC and would be too cost prohibative, so I wouldn't hold my breath. Dwight Excellent post, Dwight. I would only differ on a couple of minor points. I think slabbing of pulps with overhangs is possible, but it may require a redesigned inner well. Also, oversized pulps without overhangs, such as early Amazing Stories wouldn't be a problem if the slab itself were large enough to hold it. Pulp readers/collectors (like comic collectors) can obtain most if not all the stories, including interior art through other formats (digital copies, reprint collections, etc.), but something needs to be done to conserve the fragile pulp paper and stabilize values while encouraging interest in the pulp market. While readers collect pulps for specific authors and stories, the magnificent cover art has always been the doorway to pulp appreciation. This plays right into the idea that grading and slabbing of high grade examples of these books is the ultimate key to establishing a sustainable high end market for pulps. Thinking outside the box, in order to grow the collector base a flexible grading and encapsulation system has to be employed that takes into account best surviving examples. Due to differences in design, size and PQ, high grade for a pulp isn't necessarily the same as high grade for a comic book of equivalent age and wear. Of course, this is all just speculation on my part and I'm sure that there would be resistance by some in the pulp collecting community to any type of encapsulation system.

Hi, Careful about the sales of 6th street books, as that is mainly with Spicy's. The other thing to watch is the fact that the one Spicy that sold for $5600 was re-listed by six street books and just sold for around $800. Spicy's have always been great sellers, but believe it or not, their market has been higher and hotter in the past decade, and other than in this single owner collection which has gathered hype, the Spicy sales are not where they once were. The reason that these Spicy's have sold so well is that it was a single owner collection and nearly a complete Spicy collection. One guy re-listed a couple of sixth street books on his own after purchasing some, and realized only half the value that he originally paid. Nevertheless, the collection is great, and the books are very nice, and the dealer selling them is very forthright and honest. I have been following pulps the pulp market very carefully, and have been buying and selling high end pulps and collections over carefully over the past 15 years. Right now the market is in a slump, and other than the Ultra rare issues, high grade early hero titles (first or second year if the title), Spicys, and some Weird tales, pulp prices are much lower than they were six to ten years ago. I have an ultra high grade Shadow run, and I can tell you that the prices on hero pulps are down at least 50% from what they were from 2000-2008. The pulps certainly have room to grow, but a number of factors inhibit this. 1). Availability, especially in grade 2). An aging collector base that grew up on the pulps and the pulp Hero's. 3). In order to create a frenzy, there has to be a fervour created, and to do that you need continuous sales, especially of the rare issues and high grade issues and there just is not enough supply to create this. 4) no slabbing (thank goodness) to create the investor market. You could slab the 1940's pulps, but not the 20's and 30's pulps with the large overhangs, without damaging the overhangs themselves. 5). The heavy hitters in the market, especially the silver age, have not grown up on the pulps, and maybe other than the Shadow, this generation and especially the previous generation have no affiation with the characters or pulps themselves. 6). Pulp collectors tend to collect for authors, and stories etc., and in general are not as demanding for the grade, therefore less competition. 7). A number of comic dealers jumped on board and then quickly got off the pulp bandwagon around 2000-2005, and a number of the heavy hitters that once collected the pulps (especially hero) are no longer collecting. I bought out 7 hard core Shadow collectors that would pay high prices, and now there are less collectors, and less demand. 8). Only a handful of all pulp collectors will spend some serious cash. Frank Robinson's lifetime collection of high grade pulps sold primarily to two people, with one person buying nearly 75% of the entire collection. 9). There have not been a string if successful movies created from pulp characters, just a couple of flops. Dwight

[font:Arial Black]Hello,[/font] [font:Arial Black]Just picked up couple more sharp Spider Pulps with great covers! (Well maybe just a tad gruesome for the Yul Tide Season!!) [/font] [font:Arial Black]"The City That Dared Not Eat"[/font] [font:Arial Black](October 1937)[/font] [font:Arial Black] "The City of Dreadful Night" [/font] [font:Arial Black] (November 1936) [/font] [font:Arial Black]Dwight[/font]

Thanks, It is a combination, of digging/research, persistence, money (of course), and some times just in the right place at the right time! Dwight

Hello, The interior art resembles a type of wash tone look. It is very stunning in person. Almost resembles a black and white painting. I never got a chance to meet Edd Cartier before he passed, but I heard he was a very nice fellow. I know that his son Dean has two smaller Shadow interiors, plus there is one more that Ii heard surfaced about 20 years ago. Cartier's interior artwork is very sought after, especially the work he did before he entered WW2, Dwight

Just recently added this piece to my Shadow collection. Extremely rare [font:Arial Black]Shadow interior art page [/font]by [font:Arial Black]Edd Cartier[/font] (only a handful of examples known to exist). Large [font:Arial Black]12" x 16" [/font] interior page from the [font:Arial Black]Shadow pulp [font:Arial Black]"Treasure Trail"[/font] [/font] [font:Arial Black] (1937).[/font] . The actual size of the board is 16" x 20" (12" x 16" image size). Dwight

Just recently added this piece to my Shadow collection. Extremely rare [font:Arial Black]Shadow interior art page [/font]by [font:Arial Black]Edd Cartier[/font] (only a handful of examples known to exist). Large [font:Arial Black]12" x 16" [/font] interior page from the [font:Arial Black]Shadow pulp [font:Arial Black]"Treasure Trail"[/font] [/font] [font:Arial Black] (1937).[/font] . The actual size of the board is 16" x 20" (12" x 16" image size). Dwight

I'll check Steve. Dwight

[font:Arial Black]Hello, Just got back from Windy City Pulp and Paper Show in Chicago last weekend. I picked up a few neat pulps.[/font] [font:Arial Black]Argosy - 1935 - I always liked this cover[/font] [font:Arial Black]"Real Detective Tales" - Bedsheet - 1929 - File Copy Quality - Great Cover[/font] [font:Arial Black] Nick Carter - 1934[/font] [font:Arial Black] Horror Stories #1[/font] [font:Arial Black]Shadow - Fingers of Death - 1933[/font] [font:Arial Black]Shadow - The Living Joss - 1933[/font]

A couple of new pickups. Always liked the Robot cover of this Amazing Stories from 1938 and got one inewsstand condition with white paper. Dwight

Hello, I just picked this up at auction! Up Close with the Doc Savage Award Write-up in "The Scoop" Last week, we gave you a look at the exciting and noble career of one of the most notable of the Pulp heroes, Doc Savage. If you'll recall, we even showed you a photo of the extremely rare and arguably the most sought after vintage pulp collectibles of all, The Doc Savage Award - of which less than 10 are known to exist. Well, this week we'd like to take an even closer look at that award. The Doc Savage Award was a gorgeous medal charm given by Doc Savage Magazine to those who exemplified the virtues of Service, Loyalty and Integrity. The magazine, which ran from 1933 - 1949, decided that good deeds both large and small should be honored, and that those who made “the most of their opportunities” should not go unrecognized. They wanted to give appropriate credit to those who, like Doc Savage, were dedicated to helping people in need and to upholding justice at all costs. But unlike other similar medals of honor that were given to promote superheroes that believed in the same virtues, the Doc Savage Award was particularly meaningful. See, there was no magic behind Doc's heroic acts. His strength and heroism came solely from his own determination, quick thinking and self-discipline. As you'll recall from last week, Doc spent 2 hours every day in exercise and training, and he faithfully practiced meditation to keep his body and spirit sharp. Through research and consistent study, he kept his mind in shape as well. And, he strictly adhered to the Doc Savage Creed, which, among other things, stated that he “do right to all, and wrong no man.” All of this gave a human aspect to the Doc Savage Award that other awards just didn't have. So, as you can imagine, getting the Doc Savage Award was no simple task. The folks atDoc Savage Magazine wanted to be absolutely certain that each recipient of this lofty award was deserving - therefore they had to be nominated by someone else. That someone would then fill out a special application provided by the magazine, which is in and of itself quite a rare and valuable collectible today. In the application, the person nominating would not only present a statement of why they believed their candidate was a worthy recipient of the award, but they would also provide the names and addresses of six others who knew the nominee and agreed with the statement. Just to up the ante a bit, the sixth name had to be that of a civic, religious or business leader in the community. Then, after review and acceptance from the Doc Savage Magazine Award Jury, the candidate would receive their treasured medal after about two weeks. The Award itself was quite beautiful, and featured Doc Savage's face, with a noble stare, embossed (appropriately enough) in bronze. The top of the medal read “Doc Savage Award”, and the bottom had the words “Service” “Loyalty” and “Integrity” displayed on three separate banners. The only NM/M example known of the Medallion, along with the only known example of a complete and hi-grade Application Form. Dwight

Probably in his twenties

Thought I would share this with you . A few years back, I picked up this collection a while back from the Son of an Elderly Gentleman whom was an avid Street & Smith hero pulp collector, you might say a fanatical in details of his writings (200 page Journal of detailed writings on every aspect of the Shadow that you can imagine..it was if he was doing professional research for a company). All of the writings that he did were from back in the 1930's and 40's. I just got around to taking pics of this, and sent the pics to his Son for a keepsake of his Father! His Son sold me the Doc Savage pin on the card & the mailer, the Doc Savage Pledge of Honor card, Doc Savage and The Shadow portrait pictures, & The Shadow pin on the card. His Son then gave the rest of the items to me for free, because he wanted a collector to have them. Some of the stuff is really cool (letter from Nanovic, Railcar receipt from shipping Shadow pulps via rail from Street & Smith in NY to Nothern California, Pulp checklists from Street and Smith, etc.). He must have been bummed, because in 1941 when he wanted back isssues of The Shadow pulps, almost all were sold out (check out the checklists). Really Cool! Dwight

Hello, Just picked up an ultra rare (probably only one known) example of a vintage "[font:Arial Black]OPERATOR 5[/font]" pulp magazine letter from the headquarters Popular Publications. Besides its rarity, what drew me to it was the [font:Arial Black]Operator 5 letterhead symbol - skull with the 5 in it[/font] (same as the ring), and the heading[font:Arial Black] "Secret Sentinals of America".[/font] [font:Arial Black]Whomever typed the letter made a mistake on the date, the stories listed below were published in 1936, but the date on the letter is 1926[/font]. Before we had computers it was easier just to send the letter as is rather then re-type it. There cannot be too may Operator 5 letters that survived and no one that I have talked to has seen another. Back in the day, a fan by the name of Mrs. Bedner wrote to the publishers of Operator 5 Pulp Magazine about 2 stories that she liked, “Rockets from Hell” and “War Masters from the Orient”. The publisher wrote back and welcomed her to the ranks of Secret Sentinels of America. The publisher even tries to talk her into buying an Operator 5 ring. The letter is signed Curtis Steele. Operator 5 ran for 48 issues, from April 1934 to November 1939. One final story was written but never published. Stories were credited to "Curtis Steele", which was a house name for writers Frederick C. Davis (#1-20), Emile C. Tepperman (#21-39), and Wayne Rogers (#40-48). Like other such pulps of the day, there were short backup stories by other authors. [font:Arial Black]Dwight[/font]